The remains of an Israeli soldier killed on October 7 during the bloody Hamas attack in Israel have been recovered in Gaza and returned to his family, the Israeli army said on Wednesday. “Army forces recovered the body of a fallen soldier in Gaza (and whose remains had been removed Editor’s note) on October 7 in Israeli territory. At the request of the family, the publication of his name was not authorized.the army said in a statement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the security forces and said the soldier had been killed “defending localities close to Gaza”.
“The return of the hostages will only take place within the framework of an agreement”
“The hostages still in captivity cannot afford the luxury of waiting for a rescue operation”reacted the Hostage Families Forum in a press release. “The return of the hostages will only take place within the framework of an agreement”the text adds. The attack launched on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas resulted in the death of 1,199 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas seized power in 2007, has devastated the small territory and left at least 40,534 people dead, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry in Gaza, which does not provide details on the number of civilians and fighters killed. The majority of the dead are women and minors, according to the UN. Of the 251 people abducted on October 7, 103 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 declared dead by the Israeli army.
